Anchorage

Anchorage Alaska Downtown

Anchorage Historical Highlights

Anchorage's name refers to a place where a ship can lay anchorage. The name ﻿﻿was given by the U.S. Post Office, as an abbreviation of "Knik Anchorage." The area was a transfer site for passengers and supplies heading to Knik, which served as a trading and transportation center for gold and coal mining from 1898 to 1919, when the railroad reached Anchorage. Read More

Mountains That Surround Anchorage

From Anchorage, you can see six major mountain formations. Three are in the top ten highest peaks in the United States. Mount McKinley (Denali) at 20,237 feet is #1, Mount Foraker at 17,400 feet is # 3, Mount Hunter at 14,573 feet is # 10, are all in the Alaska Range. On a clear day, you can see Mount McKinley--look south and you will see Mount Foraker with Mount Hunter between them. The recognized height of Mount McKinley was reduced 83 feet in 2013 after a new survey by USGS using advanced radar technology; Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell made the height change official. Even at the shorter height, it is still 680 feet taller than Mount Logan in Canada, the second highest mountain in North America.